ECO 303 - Managerial Economics-07102024
ECO 303 - Managerial Economics-07102024
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COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE INFORMATION
Credits : 4(4,0)
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Managerial Economics is the application of economic principles to key management decisions within
organizations. The course mainly focuses on practical utility of basic economic tools, and the basic
models of different markets. Through the course, student can also approach real-world economic
problems and examples from actual markets.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
After completing this course, students should be able to:
● Demonstrate the economic theories and methodologies used to design strategies and make
rational decisions in a business.
● Understand tools to analyze demand, supply, and cost of production from the firm's perspective
and the managers' decisions.
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● Compare pricing strategies for different types of markets.
PLO
covered
1. Knowledge
CLO2 Identify how the practical utility of basic economic tools such as present PLO4
value analysis, supply and demand, regression, indifference curves,
isoquants, productions, and cost are used in business institutions.
CLO3 Apply the optimal institutional choice for input procurement and the PLO1
principal–agent problem.
CLO4 Apply basic models of perfect competition, monopoly, and monopolistic PLO4
competition in business strategy design.
2. Skills
CLO6 Apply critical thinking skills to handle complex business challenges PLO6
3. Attitude
CLO7 Demonstrate the ability to work autonomously and collaboratively in class PLO11
activities.
COURSE MATERIALS
Mandatory
1. Baye M. R. & Prince J. (2022). Managerial economics & business strategy (10th ed.).
McGraw-Hill Education.
Supplementary
1. Perloff, J.M., & Brander, J.A. (20 19). Managerial Economics and Strategy (3rd ed). Upper
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Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
2. Samuelson, W.F., & Marks, S.G. (2024). Managerial Economics (8th ed). NY: Wiley.
3. Allen, W.B., Weigelt, K., Doherty, N.A., & Mansfield, E. (2013). Managerial Economics:
Theory, Applications, and Cases (8th ed). London: W.W.Norton & Company.
COURSE CONTENT
Hours
(Lec/Lab)
1. Introduction
1.1. The manager
1.2. Economics
1.3. Managerial Economics Defined
2. The economic of Effective Management
2.1. Identify Goals and Constraints
2.2. Recognize the Nature and Importance of Profits
2.3. Understand Incentives
2.4. Understand Markets
2.5. Recognize the Time Value of Money
2.6. Use Marginal Analysis
1. Demand
1.1. Demand Shifters
1.2. The Demand Function
1.3. Consumer Surplus
2. Supply
2.1. Supply Shifters
2.2. The Supply Function
2.3. Producer Surplus
3. Market Equilibrium
4. Price Restrictions and Market Equilibrium
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5. Comparative Statics
1. Consumer Behavior
2. Constraints
2.1. The Budget
2.2. Change in Income
2.3. Change in Prices
3. Consumer Equilibrium
4. Comparative Statics
4.1. Price Changes and Consumer Behavior
4.2. Income Changes and Consumer Behavior
4.3. Substitution and Income Effects
5. Applications of Indifference Curve Analysis
5.1. Choices by Consumers
5.2. Choices by Workers and Managers
6. The relationship between Indifference Curve Analysis and Demand Curves
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1.3. The Role of the Manager in the Production Process
1.4. Algebraic Forms of Production Functions
1.5. Algebraic Measures of Productivity
1.6. Isoquants & Isocosts
1.7. Cost Minimization
1.8. Optimal Input Substitution
2. The Cost Function
2.1. Short-Run Costs
2.2. Average and Marginal Costs
2.3. Relations among Costs
2.4. Fixed and Sunk Costs
2.5. Algebraic Forms of Cost Functions
2.6. Long-Run Costs
2.7. Economies of Scale
2.8. Economic Costs versus Accounting Costs
3. Multiple-Output Cost Functions
3.1. Economies of Scope
3.2. Cost Complementarity
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4. Managerial Compensation and the Principal–Agent Problem
5. Forces That Discipline Managers
6. The Manager–Worker Principal–Agent Problem
1. Market Structure
1.1. Firm Size
1.2. Industry Concentration
1.3. Technology
1.4. Demand and Market Conditions
1.5. Potential for Entry
2. Conduct
2.1. Pricing Behavior
2.2. Integration and Merger Activity
2.3. Research and Development
3. Performance
3.1. Profits
3.2. Social Welfare
4. The Structure–Conduct–Performance Paradigm
4.1. The Causal View
4.2. The Feedback Critique
4.3. Relation to the Five-Forces Framework
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2.4. Implications of Entry Barriers
3. Monopolistic Competition
3.1. Conditions for Monopolistic Competition
3.2. Profit Maximization
3.3. Long-Run Equilibrium
3.4. Implications of Product Differentiation
4. Optimal Advertising Decisions
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2.3. Pricing Strategies in Markets with Intense Price Competition
ASSESSMENT
Type of Assessment
Assessment Method CLO Weighting
Assessment Content
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Total: 100%
Objectives
Read
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1. Baye (2022): Chapter 1 (p.1-39)
2. Samuelson & Marks (2024): Chapter 1 (p. 1-18).
3. Perloff & Brander (2020): Chapter 1 (p. 23-29).
Discuss
Objectives
LO2.1. Explain the laws of demand and supply and the factors of demand and supply.
LO2.2. Calculate consumer surplus and producer surplus, and describe what they mean.
LO2.3. Explain price determination in a competitive market, and show how equilibrium changes in
response to changes in determinants of demand and supply.
LO2.4. Illustrate how excise taxes, ad valorem taxes, price floors, and price ceilings impact the
functioning of a market.
LO2.5. Apply demand and supply analysis as a qualitative forecasting tool to see the "big picture" in
competitive markets.
Activities
Read
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2. Samuelson & Marks (2024): Chapter 3 (p. 59-99)
Discuss
1. Explain and illustrate how excise taxes, ad valorem taxes, price floors and
price ceilings impact the functioning of a market.
Deliverables
Objectives
LO3.1. Illustrate the relationship between elasticity of demand and total revenue.
LO3.2. Discuss three factors that influence whether the demand for a given product is relatively elastic
or inelastic.
LO3.3. Explain the relationship between marginal revenue and the own price elasticity of demand.
LO3.4. Explain how regression analysis may be used to estimate demand functions, and how to
interpret and use the output of a regression.
Activities
Read
Discuss
1. Three factors that influence whether the demand for a given product is
relatively elastic or inelastic.
Do
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1. Demonstration problems 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6.
Deliverables
Objectives
LO4.1. Illustrate how changes in prices and income impact an individual's opportunities.
LO4.2. Separate the impact of a price change into substitution and income effects.
LO4.3. Show how to derive an individual's demand curve from indifference curve analysis and market
demand from a group of individuals' demands.
LO4.4. Apply the income-leisure choice framework to illustrate the opportunities, incentives, and
choices of workers and managers.
Activities
Read
Discuss
3. The impacts of “buy one, get one free” deals and gift certificates on
customer’s purchase decisions.
Do
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Deliverables
Objectives
LO5.1. Calculate a cost function from a production function and explain how economic costs differ
from accounting costs.
LO5.2. Explain the difference between and the economic relevance of fixed costs, sunk costs, variable
costs, and marginal costs.
LO5.3. Distinguish between short-run and long-run production decisions and illustrate their impacts on
costs and economies of scale.
Activities
Read
Do
Objectives
LO6.1. Identify four types of specialized investments, and explain how each can lead to costly
bargaining, underinvestment, and/or a "hold-up problem".
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LO6.2. Describe the principal-agent problem as it relates to owners and managers.
LO6.3. Discuss three forces that owners can use to discipline managers.
LO6.4. Describe the principal-agent problem as it relates to managers and workers.
LO6.5. Discuss four tools the manager can use to mitigate incentive problems in the workplace.
Activities
Read
Do
Objectives
LO7.1. Calculate alternative measures of industry structure, conduct, and performance; and discuss
their limitations.
LO7.2. Describe examples of vertical, horizontal, and conglomerate mergers, and explain the economic
basis for each type of merger.
LO7.3. Explain the relevance of the Herfindahl-Hirschman index for antitrust policy under the
horizontal merger guidelines.
LO7.4. Describe the structure-conduct-performance paradigm, the feedback critique, and their relation
to the five-forces framework.
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LO7.5. Identify whether an industry is best described as perfectly competitive, a monopoly,
monopolistically competitive, or an oligopoly.
Activities
Read
Discuss
Objectives
LO8.1. Identify the conditions under which a firm operates as perfectly competitive, monopolistically
competitive, or a monopoly.
LO8.2. Identify sources of (and strategies for obtaining) monopoly power.
LO8.3. Apply the marginal principle to determine the profit-maximizing price and output.
LO8.4. Show the relationship between the elasticity of demand for a firm's product and its marginal
revenue.
LO8.5. Explain how long-run adjustments impact perfectly competitive, monopoly, and
monopolistically competitive firms; discuss the ramifications of each of these market structures
on social welfare.
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LO8.6. Decide whether a firm making short-run losses should continue to operate or shut down its
operations.
LO8.7. Illustrate the relationship between marginal cost, a competitive firm's short-run supply curve,
and the competitive industry supply; explain why supply curves do not exist for firms that have
market power.
LO8.8. Calculate the optimal output of a firm that operates two plants and the optimal level of
advertising for a firm that enjoys market power.
Activities
Read
Do
Objectives
LO9.1. Apply normal form and extensive form representation of games to formulate decisions in
strategic environments that include pricing, advertising, coordination, bargaining, innovation,
product quality, monitoring employees, and entry.
LO9.2. Distinguish among dominant, secure, Nash, mixed, and sub-game perfect equilibrium
strategies, and identify such strategies in various games.
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LO9.3. Identify whether cooperative (collusive) outcomes may be supported as a Nash equilibrium in a
reported game, and explain the role of trigger strategies, the interest rate, and the presence of an
indefinite or certain final period in achieving such outcomes.
Activities
Read
Discuss
Objectives
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LO10.3. Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures – such
as peak-load pricing, cross-subsidies, and transfer pricing – and explain the conditions needed
for each strategy to work.
LO10.4. Explain how price-matching guarantees, brand loyalty programs, and randomized pricing
strategies can be used to enhance profits in markets with intense price competition.
Activities
Read
Discuss
COURSE POLICIES
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- Participate in class discussion
- Students with unauthorized absences from four 2-hour classes (or more) are subject to a grade of F for
this course.
LECTURERS' INFORMATION
Lecturer 1 Lecturer 2
Name: Huỳnh Công Minh, Ph.D Name: Phan Thị Ngà, Msc.
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APPENDIX
1. Assessment rubric
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This rubric is used to perform assessment number 1 – Attendance and Participation
Performance Level
Does not meet the
Criteria CLO Points/Weight Excellent Good Satisfactory
requirement
100-80 79.9-65 64.9-50 49.9-00
Apply knowledge 1-4 Mostly nothing to Apply wrongly or Apply on general Apply knowledge 40
count mostly personal or too basic levels with precision in
opinion details
Critical thinking 5-6 Mostly nothing to Show some Logical but not Critical, multiple 20
count thinking critical views
Total: 100
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This rubric is used to perform assessment number (3) - Group work
Apply course 1-4 Mostly nothing to Apply wrongly or Apply on general Apply knowledge 40
knowledge count mostly personal or too basic levels with precision in
opinion details
Logical & critical 5-6 Mostly nothing to Show some Logical but not Critical, multiple 10
thinking count thinking critical views
Clear & logic 5-6 Unconfident, Meets more than Meets more than Confident and 20
Presentation avoid eye contact, 40% of the 70%-80% engaging delivery.
inappropriate requirements of
requirements of Effective eye
gestures, poor the Excellent
contact, gestures,
posture. the Excellent level.
and vocal variety
Difficulty level. at an appropriate
engaging pace.
audience.
Clear and
articulate speech.
Stays within the
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allotted time
frame.
Total: 100
Test Blueprint No.1: This test blueprint is used for the final exam: assessment number 4
Remembe Understan Appl Analys Evaluat Creat Total Mar
Assessment content CLO
r d y e e e ques. k
Written questions
Managing in Competitive, 4
Monopolistic, and Monopolistically 1 1 20
Competitive Markets
Total 5 100
Note: please refer to the assessment rubric in each quarter for answers
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